Mercedes María

In the canton of Rocafuerte, the members of the "Trabajando Para Un Futuro" ["Working for a Future"] communal bank meet every fifteen days. This area is known for the delicious sweets prepared by the inhabitants, which are recognized throughout the country, and for the warmth of its people, who are friendly and hard-working.

In this place, we meet Mercedes, who is 46 years old and lives with her common-law husband, with whom she has three children. All of her children are grown and study at the university. Her husband has a furniture-making workshop.

She is a very good homemaker because she helps her husband with the household expenses, by dedicating herself to raising chickens. She has a small chicken-raising operation at her home. She has done this for four years, and it has gone very well for her. She works every day. She buys the chicks from an incubator, and after three or four months, she delivers them to various stores in Rocafuerte and also sells them to commercial buyers who come to her home. Her children help her with this work.

She will use this loan to buy more chickens, as well as medicines and feed so that they will achieve good growth. She has been with the communal bank for three loan cycles.